On this episode of Driving Performance, Adgile cofounder Max Flannery sits down with Beekman 1802 cofounders and husband duo Dr. Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell for a story that’s equal parts unexpected, heartwarming, and wildly entrepreneurial.

Josh and Brent grew up in small towns. Josh grew up in Wisconsin; Brent in North Carolina. Josh moved to New York to chase a career in advertising, while Brent built a career in medicine before pivoting to help launch Martha Stewart’s Health & Wellness division. A simple apple-picking trip upstate would change everything. They fell in love with the town and decided to buy a small farm as a weekend retreat.

After buying the farm, they received a handwritten letter from a neighboring farmer, John, who was losing his land and had 80 goats with nowhere to go. Josh and Brent agreed to take them in — an act they now call the “original kindness” that sparked Beekman 1802.

Then the 2008 recession hit. Brent and Josh lost their jobs. They Googled “what can you make with goat milk,” and landed on one word: soap. They decided to make goat milk, soap bars in the middle of a recession. Understanding marketing, they got some early press which would eventually lead them to a reality TV show (The Fabulous Beekman Boys) that aired for two years.

Their first major retail breakthrough came with Anthropologie, followed by explosive growth through TV retail at QVC and HSN, where Beekman 1802 is now the #1 skincare brand across both networks. Today, they’ve sold over 60 million bars of soap, built a portfolio of 300+ SKUs, and hold exclusive U.S. partnerships with Ulta Beauty — with global expansion on the horizon.

At the center of it all? Kindness and goat milk.

Brent and Josh also share insights from their book published this year: G.O.A.T. Wisdom: How to Build a Truly Great Business--From the Founders of Beekman 1802, built around 12 maxims for modern business.

Some wisdom they dropped on the pod included the 51% Rule: whichever person is most passionate about an area of the business gets the extra 1%.

Buy their book HERE.

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